Practical discussion on contemporary life challenges from an ancient perspective.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always
foundin times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 HCSB)

Luther knew
the need to find a refuge.The little
monk had challenged the power of the Pope.The mighty monolith of ecclesiastical authority that was the church of
Rome was ready to crush him.Where could
he run?What could he do?God protected him—and the unthinkable
happened—the miracle of the Reformation and the recovery of the
Gospel—justification by faith in Christ alone!

A
mighty fortress is our God,A bulwark never failing.Our helper He amid the floodOf mortal ills prevailing.For still our ancient foeDoth seek to work us woe.His craft and power are great,And, armed with cruel hate,On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,Our striving would be losing,Were not the right man on our side,The man of God's own choosing.Dost ask who that may be?Christ Jesus, it is He.Lord Sabboth, his name,From age to age the same,And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,Should threaten to undo us,We will not fear, for God hath willedHis truth to triumph through us.The Prince of Darkness grim,We tremble not for him.His rage we can endure,For lo, his doom is sure.One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powersNot thanks to them, abideth.The Spirit and the gifts are oursThrough him who with us sideth.Let goods and kindred go,This mortal life also.The body they may kill,God's truth abideth still.His kingdom is forever...

We are
told that the words are a paraphrase of Psalm 46.May the text that inspired Luther encourage
us today, as we are on the battlefield for our Lord!

There is FAITH THAT CONQUERS OUR DREAD.

“God is our refuge and
strength,a
helper who is always foundin times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid,though the earth
tremblesand
the mountains toppleinto the depths of
the seas,
though its waters roar and foamand the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah”(Psalm 46:1-3)

We can
trust in God.The most dreadful enemy
cannot destroy us when we flee to Him for refuge!Our security and strength to withstand
Satan’s fury is found in the unchanging character of God.He doesn’t just give us a refuge—He is one!Because of His immutable nature, we have an
indomitable Helper—note the word “always.”It is in times of trouble that He is “found.” That is when God most
manifests His might to us and for us.So, don’t expect to be saved from experiencing difficulty, but to be
safe while experiencing difficulty.

Faith
fortifies us against fear.It doesn’t
deny the reality of the difficulty—trembling ground, teetering mountains, and
tempestuous seas.What faith does is
enable us to stand on the solid promises of God when all about us there is
turmoil.

Not only do we have faith that
conquers our dread, we find HOPE THAT
CONQUERS OUR DESPAIR.

“[There is] a
river—its streams delight the city of God,the holy dwelling place of the Most
High.God
is within her; she will not be toppled.God will help her when the morning dawns.Nations rage, kingdoms
topple;the earth melts when He lifts His
voice.The
Lord of Hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our
stronghold. Selah” (Psalm
46:4-7 HCSB)

To look around us at the present
could bring despair—it seems at times that everything is coming unglued.We must instead look above us to our prospects
that buttress hope.

There may be a deluge of evil
flooding the land with its polluted waters, but God has something better for
us—the hope of a DELIGHT: “[There is] a river—its streams delight the city of God...” a crystal clear
river that flows from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem (see
Rev.22:1).

At present this world
and its institutions may be disintegrating, but there is a city with
foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God—the hope of a DWELLING: “the holy
dwelling place of the Most High.God is within
her; she will not be toppled.”It
is an unshakable Kingdom (read Heb.12:26-29).

For now, the darkness may envelope us, but we are promised
the hope of a DAWN: “God will help her when the morning
dawns.”This is the blessed hope of
God’s eternal day!

“Night will no longer exist, and people will not need
lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light.And they will reign forever and ever.Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful
and true.’” (Revelation 22:5-6a HCSB)

God has given us faith that conquers our dread, hope that
conquers our despair, and more—LOVE
THAT CONQUERS OUR DISTRESS.

“Come, see
the works of the Lord,who brings
devastation on the earth.He makes wars cease throughout the earth.He shatters
bows and cuts spears to pieces;He burns
up the chariots.‘Stop [your fighting]—and know that I am God,exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.’ Yahweh of Hosts is
with us;the God of Jacob is our
stronghold. Selah”(Psalm 46:8-11 HCSB)

Jesus warned us that distressing
times would come.He said, “You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that
you are not alarmed, because these
things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation
will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
and earthquakes in various places.All these
events are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matthew 24:6-8 HCSB)

The turmoil of nations marks these last days in which we find
ourselves.The last century brought two
world wars, and we sense that another is to come.Each global conflict has brought more death
and carnage—the soil saturated with blood.More lethal weapons have been developed and deployed.The creative genius of man, with minds warped
by sin, has engineered this brutality.

These are but the labor pains of a coming Kingdom—the birth
of God’s reign on earth.A last battle—a
final conflict—and Christ comes to His rightful throne!

God loves us!All the
seething hate of this world, fueled by the murderous rage of Satan, cannot
extinguish God’s indomitable love.He
has a purpose for His children that cannot be thwarted.His bride shall take her seat along side Him
and reign with Him!

“Then I saw thrones,
and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. [I] also [saw] the people who had been
beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God's word, who
had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on
their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah
for 1,000 years. The rest of the dead
did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first
resurrection. Blessed and holy is
the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power
over them, but they will be priests of God and of the Messiah, and they will
reign with Him for 1,000 years.”(Revelation 20:4-6 HCSB)

Each of the three stanzas of Psalm 46 concludes with the
musical notation, “Selah.”It is a
rest—a call to contemplate what has been said.Meditate on these truths today.They will fortify your mind against fear, strengthen your resolve in the
fight and remind you of God’s eternal love in the midst of earthly loss.Luther ended his hymn on that note:

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About Me

I am a mountaineer by birth--a native of Asheville, NC. For a period of ten years I lived in the Charlotte area and for the last eighteen, I have been "home." I was brought up in a Christian family. In fact, I went to church nine months before I was born! Despite the best efforts of parents and preachers, I went astray. The Prodigal Son story that Jesus told in Luke 15 became my story--a sordid life of drugs and booze and that's enough for you to know. But at the age of eighteen all I had been taught came flooding back into my mind when I saw the mess I was in. Christ changed me. I gave my life to Him and as a result have spent the last three decades preaching the Gospel. I'm not all I ought to be and certainly not what I one day shall be, but thankfully, not what I used to be! God has blessed me with a great wife, five wonderful children and so far, twelve grandchildren. To Him be the glory and praise, now and forever.